A good reporter follows a solid lead and always protects their source. A good dog, by contrast, follows loyally but will always break away to protect their pack. So when that dog is a giant, intimidating Newfoundland breed afraid of everything from dark stairwells to paper bags, a good reporter will wonder why. When that reporter is someone like Thom Barker itsa国际传媒檚 not just enough to find the answers, but follow the peculiar story to the end sa国际传媒� in this case to the writing of his debut childrensa国际传媒檚 book exploring the theme of unfounded fears and critical-thinking.
Now in its second release, Lady MacBeth afraid of the stairs is based on Barkersa国际传媒檚 real life dog and her odd-ball journey of conquering this fear when one day she is given a small but significant reason to doubt her own thinking.
sa国际传媒淚 really hope more than anything children are entertained by it,sa国际传媒� Barker says. sa国际传媒淥f course, confronting fears is a standard childrensa国际传媒檚 book theme, so if it is entertaining, perhaps in a small way it will help children develop the skepticism they need to become critically-thinking adults.
Regular readers may remember Barker from his days about 13 years ago at the Interior News in Smithers. His stories were regularly shared with Black Press newspapers across B.C. He was in the Houston RCMP detachment less than an hour after the fatal, in-custody shooting of Ian Bush, and subsequently won a national award of excellence for his reporting on the inquiry. A Smithers crime series, on what was then B.C.sa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渃rime capitalsa国际传媒�, won him a dozen more accolades from journalism institutions in both Canada and the United States. In other words, hesa国际传媒檚 not known for fluff pieces. This foray into childrensa国际传媒檚 books is a surprising turn for Barker, now a grandfather of two, until the adult readers see the similarities of Lady MacBethsa国际传媒檚 fears, and the culture of fear underlying many of todaysa国际传媒檚 news headlines.
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sa国际传媒淐ritical thinking is important for everybody,sa国际传媒� Barker says. sa国际传媒淲ith all of the misinformation and disinformation going around on the Internet, particularly social media, you have to be able to discern whatsa国际传媒檚 real and whatsa国际传媒檚 not. Be able to question whatever is put before you, including your own gut instincts and fears.sa国际传媒�
To be fair, Lady MacBeth is not afraid of all stairs, just these stairs in the Labrador home Barker shares with his wife Lorraine (whom he met in Smithers). For safety concerns they had blocked off the staircase when Lady was a pup, and Barker suspects her curiosity of what lurked beyond the barricade mutated into fear as she matured. Why shesa国际传媒檚 afraid of everything else is a mystery (a tennis racket, a bicycle, a tin can) but a good motivator for Barker to document Ladysa国际传媒檚 adventures in the world of fiction.
| Thom Barker |
To illustrate this with humour and a light step, Barker turned to long-time friend Dave Rheaume, with whom he shared a passion as a child for co-creating comic books and homemade films. Rheaume brings what Barker calls a sa国际传媒渉istorical-retro feelsa国际传媒� to the book. An emerging theme with reader reviews indicate children find the paintings whimsical while parents and grandparents find them nostalgic.
sa国际传媒淲hat I loved about the book is the idea that you have this large, powerful being that still has these phobias,sa国际传媒� Rheaume says. sa国际传媒淭o see that such a a strong powerful beast, thatsa国际传媒檚 basically the same size as a human, can still have the same sort of hangups and phobias and fears that all of us have makes her very relatable.sa国际传媒�
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Provided the second release of the self-published book goes well, Barker and Rheaume are already planning a series theysa国际传媒檒l pitch to traditional publishers next year. The series will begin with titles like Lady MacBeth takes a bath, Lady MacBeth finds a dinosaur bone and Lady MacBeth goes to the big city.
Lady MacBeth afraid of the stairs is available on
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